Allison Needles: Record-setting bridge girders to cause lane closures on I-5 in Tacoma
News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash. 1/1/2021 Allison Needles, The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.)
Jan. 1 The new year will kick off with some overnight lane closures and detours on Interstate 5 in Tacoma.
The state Department of Transportation s contractor, Guy F. Atkinson Construction, will begin installing 30 giant bridge girders over the Puyallup River in Tacoma on Jan. 4 that will cause the disruptions.
One of those girders is a record-setting 223 feet in length and almost 9 feet high, weighing more than 246,500 pounds.
It s the longest prestressed concrete girder made in North America, according WSDOT, and is roughly the weight of a Blue whale and the length of a 747 airplane. The girders were made at Concrete Technology Corporation in Tacoma.
TACOMA – Contractor crews working for the Washington State Department of Transportation are kicking off 2021 in a big way – and travelers should prepare now to alter travel or allow extra travel time.
Throughout the month of January, Guy F. Atkinson Construction will install the final 30 bridge girders on the last three spans of the new southbound Interstate 5 Puyallup River Bridge.
This work will require overnight weeknight lane closures, Monday through Thursday, on both southbound I-5 and State Route 167 in Tacoma that start Monday, Jan. 4. Several ramps and exits also are affected. Signed detours will be in place.
What to expect:
Monday, Jan. 4 through Thursday, Jan. 7